Parnaby’s heroics lift Wahine to 2 victories

Kaia Parnaby’s parents and sister came a long way to see her pitch this weekend. The Hawaii sophomore gave them a show last night.

Parnaby earned a complete-game win in UH’s 8-1 win over Nevada in the first game of a Western Athletic Conference doubleheader. She then preserved a tenuous lead late in the finale to pick up a save as the Rainbow Wahine completed the sweep with a 5-4 victory.

"This is the first time my dad has seen me play college ball," said Parnaby, from Australia. "To play at home with them here, it’s kinda cool."

In the opening game, Parnaby held the Wolf Pack to three hits and catcher Sharla Kliebenstein’s grand slam in the fifth inning broke the tension in a tight game.

UHtook a 5-1 lead into the sixth inning of the second game when Nevada rallied for three runs off UHstarter Stephanie Ricketts. Parnaby entered the game with the bases loaded and one out and struck out the next two hitters to escape the jam. She walked a batter in the seventh, but again frustrated the Pack to earn her first save of the season and third of her career.

"She’s a great pitcher to come into a situation like that," Kliebenstein said. "She doesn’t look like she’s nervous, she just pitches like she knows how to."

The sweep kept the Wahine (28-12, 6-3 WAC) within sight of the early leaders in the conference race. They head into a road trip to Louisiana Tech two games behind frontrunner New Mexico State and one behind Fresno State.